Well, actually, I grew up in the South, and I think he's right. The Stars n Bars was re-introduced as a racist anti-integration symbol in the post-Brown era, but in our counry, with its short historical memory, that's like ancient Rome. I think a lot of working class Southern whites who have no particularly consciously racist views, but are merely insensitive to the way that Blacks perceive the symbol, use it to show that they are good ol boys. It doesn't mean, I hate n****s. It means, Whaooo! Yeehaw! Let's drink beer 'n lissen to country music and go down to the stock car races n watch the chicks in skimpy outfits! It's a bit like the Indian mascots in sports. White (and in Cleveland and DC, Black) sports fans and teams who adhere to these are not racist, they just are insensative to the way it reads to Native Americans. A lot of the resentment and resistance comes from the idea that it's hoity hoity look down yer nose Northern libruls who are tellin us what to do. That's what I think. Jks
^^^^^^^^^ CB: I agree with Justin's observation.
However, the bulwark, the great mass, of racism in the U.S. is of this unconscious, "indirect","mild", indifferent, denial type. If we could get White people with the attitude that racism is not important enough to be very conscious of and focussed on to change and focus on it, and stop it and fight it, racism would be through. I mean over and done with. The conscious, rabid racists ,kkk'ers would be overwhelmed, marginalized and defeated easily if we could wipe out racism-lite.